This invention relates to a remotely controlled engine oil pump which begins lubricating an engine prior to starting the engine.
Nearly all modern automotive vehicles are powered by an internal combustion engine having a lubrication system filled with engine oil. Proper lubrication is essential to the operation of the engine. Without lubrication, the effects of friction and heat would cause the engine to seize. To distribute the engine oil to numerous moving components inside the engine, the lubrication system includes an oil pump.
Engine oil pumps create pressure to circulate the oil throughout the lubrication system. Most engine oil pumps are mechanically driven by the engine. Typically, engine oil pumps are driven by the circular rotation of either the camshaft or the crankshaft and, therefore, the oil is distributed only when the engine is running. As a result, the greatest amount of frictional component wear occurs when the engine is first started. Lubricating the engine with oil prior to starting, sometimes referred to as prelubricating the engine, would greatly reduce this start-up friction wear which, in turn, would lengthen the life of the engine. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an engine lubrication system in which a driver passively activates an electrically driven engine oil pump prior to starting the engine. However, since the oil pump is typically driven by the engine this has not yet been provided.